Changes to DRSCs
- Raja Sabha Secretariat is considering changing the rules governing the’ (DRSC) tenure.
- It aims to make it to two years from the present one year so that the panels have enough time to work on the subjects selected by them.
- The following options are being considered by Raja Sabha Secretariat
- To extend the term of the panels for a year.
- To form new committees with a fixed tenure of two years.
- This decision comes after the tenure of all the DRSCs of Parliament is ending on 11th September, 2020 and they can’t hold deliberations till new panels are formed.
- A significant amount of the tenure of the committees was lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Many of the panels have not been able to complete reports on the subjects they were working on.
Departmentally-Related Standing Committees
- On the recommendation of the Rules Committee of the Lok Sabha, 17 Departmentally-Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) were set up in the Parliament in 1993.
- In 2004, seven more such committees were set up, thus increasing their number from 17 to 24.
- Out of the 24 standing committees, 8 work under the Rajya Sabha and 16 under the Lok Sabha.
- Each standing committee consists of 31 members (21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha).
- The members of the Lok Sabha are nominated by the Speaker, just as the members of the Rajya Sabha are nominated by the Chairman from amongst its members
- A minister is not eligible to be nominated as a member of any of the standing committees.
- In case a member, after his nomination to any of the standing committees, is appointed a minister, he then ceases to be a member of the committee
- The term of office of each standing committee is one year from the date of its constitution.
- They secure more accountability of the Executive (i.e., the Council of Ministers) to the Parliament.
Parliamentary Committees
- Constitution of India makes a mention of parliamentary committees at different places, but without making any specific provisions regarding their composition, tenure, functions, etc.
- Broadly, parliamentary committees are of two kinds
- Standing Committees - Permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis.
- They can be categorized into following broad groups
- Financial Committees
- Departmental Standing Committees (24)
- Committees to Inquire
- Committees to Scrutinize and Control
- Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of the House
- House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees
- Ad Hoc Committees – These are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned.
- Ad hoc committees can be divided into two categories,
- Inquiry Committee
- Advisory Committee
JETRO Plan
- Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has recently announced that it would fund 10 Japanese companies.
- JETRO has made India and Bangladesh part of a larger subsidy programme, estimated at $230 million.
- This plan is unofficially aimed at helping Japanese companies in China to relocate to other countries.
- The package was earlier aimed for relocation of Japanese companies to mostly South-East Asian countries including Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar, but now India and Bangladesh, too, have been added to the list.
- The recent plan includes Suzuki Motors and Olympus, to get into high-tech projects with Indian companies.
- Approximately $1 million was set aside for the projects already identified, it would be a part of investments in machinery, factory, etc.
Business Reforms Action Plan-2019
- Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has developed Business Reforms Action Plan for State Reforms since 2015.
- It has started an ambitious program for reforms in partnership with State Governments to make it easier, simpler and quicker for businesses to operate.
- The Plan is designed keeping in mind 2 factors viz. Measurability and Comparability across States.
- To support this initiative, an online portal (www.eodb.dipp.gov.in) showcasing rankings was developed and launched in April 2016.
- Recently Andhra Pradesh has bagged the first rank among all the states in the country in the state business reforms action plan-2019 (BRAP-2019).
- Andhra Pradesh has achieved 100 percent compliance to the 187 reform action points by DPIIT-World Bank as a part of BRAP 2019.
- The ReSTART package announced by AP government found a special mention in the BRAP 2019.
- While Uttar Pradesh stood in the second position, Telangana bagged the third spot in the overall ranking of the state business process reforms undertaken during 2019.
“ReSTART” Package
- Andhra Pradesh has launched a new programme ReSTART in May 2020, to support the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector in the State.
- Under the plan the government will spend ₹1,100 crore on revival of the sector which is expected to benefit 98,000 units that provide employment to more than 10 lakh people.
- Other features of the plan includes
- A special fund of ₹200 crore to provide input capital loan to the firms at low interest rates.
- The minimum power demand charges of the MSMEs for the months of April, May and June, amounting to ₹188 crore to be waived off.
- The government will purchase around 360 products from the MSMEs, and payments towards it would be cleared in 45 days.
- Of the total purchases, almost 25% would be done from the micro and small enterprises, 4% from the SC/ST community enterprises, and 3% from women entrepreneurs.
Sri Lanka’s 13th Amendment
- The 13th Amendment is an outcome of the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987, signed by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayawardene.
- It was an attempt to resolve Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict that had aggravated into a full-fledged civil war, between the armed forces and the LTTE (which sought a separate state).
- It mandates a measure of power devolution to the provincial councils established to govern the island’s nine provinces, including Sinhala majority areas, to self-govern.
- Till date, the 13th Amendment represents the only constitutional provision on the settlement of the long-pending Tamil question.
- Subjects such as education, health, agriculture, housing, land and police are devolved to the provincial administrations.
- But because of restrictions on financial powers and overriding powers given to the President, the provincial administrations have not made much headway.
- In particular, the provisions relating to police and land have never been implemented.
- Recently many social groups have openly called for the abolition of provincial councils after the new government took charge.
Clean Air Day for Blue Skies
- The very first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies will be held on September 7th, 2020.
- The day aims for the following
- Raise public awareness at all levels individual, community, corporate and government—that clean air is important for health, productivity, the economy and the environment.
- Demonstrate the close link of air quality to other environmental/developmental challenges such as most and foremost climate change and the global Sustainable Development Goals.
- Promote and facilitate solutions that improve air quality by sharing actionable knowledge best practices, innovations, and success stories.
- The United Nations General Assembly On December 19, 2019, during its 74th session adopted the resolution to hold an International Day of Clean Air for blue skies every year.
- It invited the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to facilitate the observance of the International Day, in collaboration with other relevant organizations.
Sadikpur Sinauli Archaeological Site
- The 2018 Excavatios from Baghpat district in UP, proved evidence of the existence of a warrior class around 2,000 BCE.
- Recently the archaeological site is at Sadikpur Sinauli, Baghpat District have been declared to be of “national importance” by the Archaeological Survey of India.
- The ASI’s notification under provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 brings the 28.67-hectare-site under Central protection.
- The site would now be maintained by the ASI and development works around it would be subject to Central rules.
- The notification comes two years after the ASI unearthed remains of chariots, shields, swords and other items indicating the presence of a warrior class at the site that is 68 km from Delhi.
- ASI termed the site the “largest necropolis of the late Harappan period datable to around early part of second millennium BCE”.
Source: The Hindu, Hindustan Times, UN
